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Jan 11, 2023 · 18m · top-founders

How They Used #1 Product Hunt Launch to Hit $20k+ MRR for Expense Management Tool inside Slack

Nathan Latka · 8m spoken Serge Gusev · 7m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

ApproveIt co-founder Serge Gusev joins Nathan Latka to break down how the startup leveraged iterative Product Hunt launches, marketplace SEO, and in-chat approval workflows to scale to 300 paying accounts and target $100,000 in monthly recurring revenue.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 53% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.8 Guest teaching 1.5 Guest disagreement 1.3 Nathan pushing back 3.2
05100:0010:000:00–2:03 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 SaaS Open Conference Announcement and Ticket Promotion Monologue segment where Nathan promotes the SaaS Open conference and provides an introductory overview of Approveit's metrics before welcoming the guest.2:04–4:19 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Guest Introduction and Product Hunt Launch Journey Nathan pulls up exact historical Product Hunt upvote and review metrics, while Serge explains the iteration cycle between their initial failed launch and subsequent number one product ranking.4:20–6:58 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Core Product Features, Integrations, and Pricing Structure Nathan breaks down the product use cases and pricing model to monthly equivalents, while Serge expands the product positioning beyond simple expense management into compliance and access provisioning.6:59–12:43 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Founding Timeline, Customer Metrics, and Pre-Seed Fundraising Nathan live-searches keywords and marketplace rankings on Slack and Google to verify Serge's customer acquisition claims while probing the need for outside venture capital.12:43–16:11 · Nathan as informed peer 8/10 Team Composition, Growth Projections, and Revenue Targets Nathan catches a mathematical contradiction between Serge's stated customer count and average price point versus revenue, directly confronting Serge when he attempts to dodge the numbers.16:11–17:14 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions in a cooperative concluding segment.0:00–2:03 · Guest teaching 0/10 SaaS Open Conference Announcement and Ticket Promotion Monologue segment where Nathan promotes the SaaS Open conference and provides an introductory overview of Approveit's metrics before welcoming the guest.2:04–4:19 · Guest teaching 2/10 Guest Introduction and Product Hunt Launch Journey Nathan pulls up exact historical Product Hunt upvote and review metrics, while Serge explains the iteration cycle between their initial failed launch and subsequent number one product ranking.4:20–6:58 · Guest teaching 3/10 Core Product Features, Integrations, and Pricing Structure Nathan breaks down the product use cases and pricing model to monthly equivalents, while Serge expands the product positioning beyond simple expense management into compliance and access provisioning.6:59–12:43 · Guest teaching 2/10 Founding Timeline, Customer Metrics, and Pre-Seed Fundraising Nathan live-searches keywords and marketplace rankings on Slack and Google to verify Serge's customer acquisition claims while probing the need for outside venture capital.12:43–16:11 · Guest teaching 1/10 Team Composition, Growth Projections, and Revenue Targets Nathan catches a mathematical contradiction between Serge's stated customer count and average price point versus revenue, directly confronting Serge when he attempts to dodge the numbers.16:11–17:14 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions in a cooperative concluding segment.0:00–2:03 · Guest disagreement 0/10 SaaS Open Conference Announcement and Ticket Promotion Monologue segment where Nathan promotes the SaaS Open conference and provides an introductory overview of Approveit's metrics before welcoming the guest.2:04–4:19 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Guest Introduction and Product Hunt Launch Journey Nathan pulls up exact historical Product Hunt upvote and review metrics, while Serge explains the iteration cycle between their initial failed launch and subsequent number one product ranking.4:20–6:58 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Core Product Features, Integrations, and Pricing Structure Nathan breaks down the product use cases and pricing model to monthly equivalents, while Serge expands the product positioning beyond simple expense management into compliance and access provisioning.6:59–12:43 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Founding Timeline, Customer Metrics, and Pre-Seed Fundraising Nathan live-searches keywords and marketplace rankings on Slack and Google to verify Serge's customer acquisition claims while probing the need for outside venture capital.12:43–16:11 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Team Composition, Growth Projections, and Revenue Targets Nathan catches a mathematical contradiction between Serge's stated customer count and average price point versus revenue, directly confronting Serge when he attempts to dodge the numbers.16:11–17:14 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions in a cooperative concluding segment.0:00–2:03 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 SaaS Open Conference Announcement and Ticket Promotion Monologue segment where Nathan promotes the SaaS Open conference and provides an introductory overview of Approveit's metrics before welcoming the guest.2:04–4:19 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Guest Introduction and Product Hunt Launch Journey Nathan pulls up exact historical Product Hunt upvote and review metrics, while Serge explains the iteration cycle between their initial failed launch and subsequent number one product ranking.4:20–6:58 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Core Product Features, Integrations, and Pricing Structure Nathan breaks down the product use cases and pricing model to monthly equivalents, while Serge expands the product positioning beyond simple expense management into compliance and access provisioning.6:59–12:43 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Founding Timeline, Customer Metrics, and Pre-Seed Fundraising Nathan live-searches keywords and marketplace rankings on Slack and Google to verify Serge's customer acquisition claims while probing the need for outside venture capital.12:43–16:11 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Team Composition, Growth Projections, and Revenue Targets Nathan catches a mathematical contradiction between Serge's stated customer count and average price point versus revenue, directly confronting Serge when he attempts to dodge the numbers.16:11–17:14 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions in a cooperative concluding segment.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 88.4% · guest 11.6%0:00 · Nathan 88.4% · guest 11.6%3:00 · Nathan 20.1% · guest 79.9%3:00 · Nathan 20.1% · guest 79.9%6:00 · Nathan 41.8% · guest 58.2%6:00 · Nathan 41.8% · guest 58.2%9:00 · Nathan 40% · guest 60%9:00 · Nathan 40% · guest 60%12:00 · Nathan 56.4% · guest 43.6%12:00 · Nathan 56.4% · guest 43.6%15:00 · Nathan 71.5% · guest 28.5%15:00 · Nathan 71.5% · guest 28.5%18:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%18:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 14:43 Serge refuses to disclose revenue figures

Serge stonewalls Nathan's direct revenue calculations, insisting he cannot share financial figures despite Nathan's persistent probing.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 14:37 Nathan rejects Serge's revenue evasion

Nathan bluntly refuses to accept Serge's claim of not knowing his revenue during an active fundraising round, stating that either the customer count or ARPU provided is wrong.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 5:44 Serge reframes product beyond basic expense management

Serge educates Nathan on how the tool serves as a broader internal compliance and audit system of record for HR, payroll, and access provisioning rather than just simple Slack expense approvals.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 15:12 Nathan exposes customer count inflation via conversion math

Nathan uses Serge's own stated free-to-paid conversion rate benchmarks against the total user base to demonstrate that the actual paying customer count is significantly lower than previously claimed.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
SaaS Open Conference Announcement and Ticket Promotion 0000 Monologue segment where Nathan promotes the SaaS Open conference and provides an introductory overview of Approveit's metrics before welcoming the guest.
Guest Introduction and Product Hunt Launch Journey 5212 Nathan pulls up exact historical Product Hunt upvote and review metrics, while Serge explains the iteration cycle between their initial failed launch and subsequent number one product ranking.
Core Product Features, Integrations, and Pricing Structure 5312 Nathan breaks down the product use cases and pricing model to monthly equivalents, while Serge expands the product positioning beyond simple expense management into compliance and access provisioning.
Founding Timeline, Customer Metrics, and Pre-Seed Fundraising 7226 Nathan live-searches keywords and marketplace rankings on Slack and Google to verify Serge's customer acquisition claims while probing the need for outside venture capital.
Team Composition, Growth Projections, and Revenue Targets 8148 Nathan catches a mathematical contradiction between Serge's stated customer count and average price point versus revenue, directly confronting Serge when he attempts to dodge the numbers.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 4101 Nathan runs through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions in a cooperative concluding segment.

Statements from this episode (8)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
ApproveIt's #1 Product Hunt launch brought in its first investors
“And at that time, we got like number one product of the day on Product Hunt. We also got a lot of positive feedback, first paying customers, first investors.”
Serge Gusev Jan 11, 2023 ▶ 3:26
Disclosure
ApproveIt's #1 Product Hunt launch yielded only 20-30 new users
“I would say, yes, somewhere between like, 20 to 30 new users, and among those, some paying customers, I would say around 10%.”
Serge Gusev Jan 11, 2023 ▶ 3:50
Disclosure
Gusev: ApproveIt ACV averages between $1,000 and $5,000
“Let's say somewhere between thousand to 5000 dollars per year.”
Serge Gusev Jan 11, 2023 ▶ 6:26
Disclosure
ApproveIt shifts to seat-based pricing for companies over 50 employees
“It depends on the team size, but yeah, for like the bigger teams, teams of more than 50 employees, we charge per number of seats. And for smaller teams, we have a tier, so it's like how much approval requests you can make per month. That's like a 99 dollars ti…”
Serge Gusev Jan 11, 2023 ▶ 6:42
Assertion Partly supported
Gusev: ApproveIt is listed on Slack, Jira, QuickBooks, and Xero marketplaces
“So we already listed on Slack marketplace. We also got listed on Jira marketplace. Listen, they added QuickBooks and Zero marketplace. We get some organic audience from there.”
Serge Gusev Jan 11, 2023 ▶ 10:35
Disclosure
ApproveIt is currently raising a $1 million funding round
“We're raising the million right now.”
Serge Gusev Jan 11, 2023 ▶ 13:18
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Gusev: ApproveIt will 'definitely' reach $100k MRR in 2023
“Do you think you can break a 100,000 bucks a month in revenue this year sometime? Yes, definitely.”
Serge Gusev Jan 11, 2023 ▶ 15:34
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Gusev: ApproveIt grew revenue 4x year-over-year
“I would say, yeah, we grow four times. So like it's 400%.”
Serge Gusev Jan 11, 2023 ▶ 16:02
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